Franco-Russian billionaire Pavel Durov never ceases to surprise. Founder of the Telegram messaging service, he claims to already be the father of more than 100 biological children spread across 12 countries, in addition to his six recognized children. From now on, he offers not only to give his sperm for free, but also to give a part of his fortune to the children who would be born from these donations.
According to his statements relayed by “HLN” and “The Wall Street Journal”, Pavel Durov says he is ready to cover the costs of in vitro fertilization for interested women. The latter must, however, meet certain conditions: be under 37 years old and not be married, a requirement intended, according to him, to “avoid legal complications”.
The businessman explains that he started donating sperm in 2009, at the request of a friend facing fertility problems. The director of the Moscow AltraVita clinic then spoke to him about a shortage of “high quality” donors and spoke of a “civic duty”. Pavel Durov says he responded to this call for several years. Although he has since stopped donations, samples taken at the time would still be available.
A fortune estimated at $17.1 billion
Asked about inheritance, the billionaire assures that all his biological children will receive, when the time comes, an equal share of his fortune. This is today estimated at 13.45 billion €, which places him 149th among the richest people in the world.
Telegram claims nearly a billion monthly active users. Pavel Durov, a fierce opponent of censorship, assumes that his platform is also used by extremist or criminal circles. He left Russia after refusing to cooperate with the intelligence services and now lives in Dubai, while holding French nationality.
Very attentive to his lifestyle, Pavel Durov says he wants to maximize his life expectancy: no alcohol, no caffeine, lots of sport and rigorously controlled sleep. He often shows off his muscular body on social media.
